Systems enabling interactions with digital images based on gaze data are known. For example, European Patent Application No. EP1335270 describes a method and system for using non-manual commands, such as voice and gaze, to control the actions of a medical image digital display system. Patent Application No. EP1335270 describes a method for using non-manual commands, such as voice and gaze, to control the actions of a medical image digital display system. Images are provided to the medical image digital display system to be displayed and controlled by a computer system using non-manual commands that do not require the use of the limbs of the hands or feet.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2004/0183749 relates to a method and apparatus for improving communications between humans and devices by means of providing an attentive user interface for obtaining information about an attentive state of a user and modulating operation of a device on the basis of the obtained information. The information about the user's attentive state is obtained through eye contact of the user with the device that is sensed by the attentive user interface.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2004/0212712 relates to a digital imaging device which detects or tracks a user's direction of gaze. The detected direction of gaze may be used to set one or more functions in the digital imaging device, and the history of the user's direction of gaze may be stored with a captured digital image for later use by an automatic image post-processing apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,563 is directed to a system for eye-gaze direction detection that uses an infrared light emitting diode mounted coaxially with the optical axis and in front of the imaging lens of an infrared sensitive video camera for remotely recording images of the eye of the computer operator. When coupled with a computer screen and a graphical user interface, the system may place the cursor at the user's point of regard and then perform the various mouse clicking actions at the location on the screen where the user fixates.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,095 relates to a navigation and display system having a cursor on the graphical user interface, which is coupled to a mouse, where movement of the mouse controls the location of the cursor with respect to the icons. The icons are arranged such that hand movements required to control the mouse correspond to head and eye movements made by radiologists when viewing similar images on hard copy film.
While such systems may have achieved certain degrees of success in their particular applications, there exists a need for a system that enables viewing and interacting with regions of digital images, based on gaze data.